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Wednesday, June 29, 2011

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Completion Date: June 28, 2011Reason for Reading: Fun!

When Henry meets Clare, he is twenty-eight and she is twenty. Henry has never met Clare before; Clare has known Henry since she was six. Impossible but true, because Henry finds himself periodically displaced in time, pulled to moments of emotional gravity from his life, past and future. Henry and Clare's attempts to live normal lives are threatened by a force they can neither prevent nor control, making their passionate love story intensely moving and entirely unforgettable. The Time Traveler's Wife is a story of fate, hope and belief, and more than that, it's about the power of love to endure beyond the bounds of time.

As I mentioned in my last post, I have been feeling a bit disconnected from reading and blogging lately. I thought a good way to change things up a bit was to go back and reread some favourite books. I am also rereading Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. This might be the year I read beyond book two in the series! This also might be the year I finally read Her Fearful Symmetry by Niffenegger. Anyway, I think this is my third time reading The Time Traveler's Wife. I read it when it was brand new, so before blogging, and then reread it in 2009. I want to say I have reread it another time, too, but now I am not so sure.

When I read this book for the first time it was complete whim. I was browsing the bookshelves at the store and my eyes fell on this book. At the time I hadn't really heard anything about it, but I liked science-fiction and decided to give it a try. When I finished I was so excited and lent it to a bunch of my friends. They gave it back and told me they didn't get why I loved it so much. That book has been lent out more than any of my other books, but I don't think anyway I have lent it to has enjoyed the book quite as much as me. That made me sad and was one of the reasons why I was so happy when the book started to get a lot of attention and then I met blogging friends that also loved the book. This is the main reason I stick with blogging even when I get a bit dispirited.

This book was enjoyable with another read through. I still love it and look forward to reading it again in the future. I find with the book that I fly through the first part, but since I know how the book ends I tend to read a bit slower. The whole book is good, though. It is just a sad book for a while there. When I read it the first time it was all a surprise. When I read it now, though, I know the story pretty well. I forget some of the details, though, so it still reads well with every reread. I still am baffled with my love affair with this book. I was drawn to it in the first place because of the science-fiction aspect, but this is also a romance novel at the same time. I am surprised that aspect of the story didn't turn me off every time I read it, but it all works together to make an enjoyable read. I won't rehash the story because it has been reviewed forever, but I will say that I love this book and think everyone that STILL hasn't read it, should read it!

8 comments:

Every once in awhile I come across a post or comment of someone who didn't like this book and I find myself doing the flabbergasted mouth dropping open "say what?" face. I read this book after my wife and several of her library friends insisted that I should read it and several bloggers were praising it too. I realize we all like different things, but this is one of those books, along with Diane Setterfields' The Thirteenth Tale, that I feel really sad about when someone doesn't get what all the fuss is about.

Such a wonderful book. I cried throughout the entirety of the last 50 or so pages of the book. I love Henry and Clare and this is a book I really should revisit myself. I raved about it in my initial review back in '05 and I also listed it as one of my Top 20 in the 2000's novels.

I have avoided seeing the film because I just know it cannot do the book justice. I may break down and see it some day, but I am not going to seek it out.

Glad you decided to visit this old friend and I hope it helped kick the funk out, at least a little bit.

I'd love to read this one again. I'm pretty sure I'd also love it just as much the second time around. You know, I should adopt your strategy and reread old favourites. Of course, the only books I have here are ones I read quite recently, but there's always the library...

this is one of those SF books that I can't believe I haven't read yet. I did see the movie earlier this year, and although I'm sure the film doesn't do the book justice, I felt it was a pretty good movie and very well done.

I loved this book. It sits on my shelf with no plans of ever leaving it. Funny though, I never thought about re-reading it. Now, I think it would be a fantastic re-read and maybe I will this year.

Outlander is my favorite series, and I have read Outlander three times. I am currently re-reading Voyager, and oh my...sigh...what a great re-read. I know the story, but the details escape or new ones show their face.

I am so sorry, but I turned anonymous commenting off. I have had it from the very beginning, but that is how the spam is getting by my spam filter at the moment. If it is a big deal I will turn it back on and moderate all comments. I also changed moderation from older than 14 days to older than 7.

About Me

Since I was a little girl I have been fascinated with books. Early photos show me with a book in hand, even if it was not exactly my reading level... My first word was a made-up word meaning 'book', actually. I suppose I had my priorities at an early age... Over the years my interest in books has become one of the defining features of who I am as a person. You can probably call me a bookworm. While I have other interests, reading will always be the one I talk about the most, even if I am not focusing on it as much as I used to.